Poetry Terms Set 1: Definitions

Front 1

allegory

Back 1

One story that represents another story through symbolism. A story within a story.

Front 2

Terza rima

Back 2

A very cool interlocking set of 3-line stanzas. The interlocking comes from the end rhyme scheme: aba bcb cdc ded

Front 3

Iamb

Back 3

A metric foot with two syllables, the first is unstressed, the second is stressed- ba-DUM

Front 4

Trochee

Back 4

A metric foot with two syllables: the first is stressed and the second is unstressed. (A-corn)

Front 5

Anapest

Back 5

A metric foot in poetry with three syllables, two unstressed and then one stressed (ba-ba-DUM)

Front 6

Dactyl

Back 6

A metric foot in poetry with three syllables, one stressed followed by two unstressed syllables)
DUM-da-da

Front 7

Spondee

Back 7

An irregular metric foot that is nor part of a often used pattern of rhythm. It is two stressed syllables (DUM-DUM). For variety or emphasis.

Front 8

Metric foot

Back 8

A u it of measurement in a poem. They aren't equal across all poems, but within a single poem, they are equal or form a pattern.

Front 9

Meter

Back 9

The pattern rhythmic beats in a poem

Front 10

Hamartia

Back 10

This is a quality of a hero, or a mistake s/he makes that is an important push toward the hero's tragic fate. A tragic flaw.

Front 11

Fixed form poem

Back 11

This is a poem that is recognizable by its pattern. It has a name, like a sonnet or a haiku, and has a certain number of lines, merit feet, and rhyme scheme.

Front 12

Metonymy

Back 12

A similar phrase or a part of the whole used to represent the whole. A kind of metaphor that is, basically word substitution.

Front 13

Synecdoche

Back 13

A metaphor in which the part is substituted for the whole or in some cases, the whole for a part

Front 14

Extended metaphor

Back 14

A metaphor that e writer carries through the entire text, be it poem or story. Lots of subtle hints remind the reader of the metaphor's connection between the symbol and the implied thing it represents

Front 15

Apostrophe

Back 15

In drama, poetry, or fiction, this device allows a character to speak his or her thoughts aloud by speaking them to an absent character or even a nonhuman object.

Front 16

Theme

Back 16

The concrete images in a poem or play, all the elements of the plot of a fictional text are threaded together with this abstract idea or impression the reader is meant to infer.

Front 17

Verbal irony

Back 17

Kind of like sarcasm, this type (one of four) of ________ occurs when a line in a poem or prose says the opposite of its actual meaning.

Front 18

Dramatic irony

Back 18

In a narrative poem or fiction, this type of _______ occurs when the audience knows something that the character does not. It is likely that this lack of knowing will create difficulty for the character and suspense in the reader.

Front 19

Situational irony

Back 19

When forces beyond human control, like fate, cause the highly unexpected to happen. Up until this occurrence, the reader has been "promised" or lead on by the author to expect one thing to happen. The disruption of this expectation is ......

Front 20

Tragic irony

Back 20

Occurs when, in a narrative poem or fictional work, the protagonist is searching for the cause of some tragedy or crises, only to find that he or she is the responsible one, the one to blame for the tragedy.